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A state lawmaker wants Gov. John Kasich to explain why he is accused of forcing the Ohio EPA’s
top water watchdog to resign.

Rep. Debbie Phillips, D-Albany, sent a letter to Kasich and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
Director Scott Nally demanding documents and emails that might show why they wanted George
Elmaraghy, chief of the Ohio EPA’s surface-water division, to leave his job on Sept. 13.

The situation came to light on Aug. 19 when Elmaraghy sent an email to his staff in which he
said Kasich and Nally demanded that he resign because of “considerable pressure” from coal
companies.

The companies, Elmaraghy wrote, wanted water-pollution permits “that may have a negative impact
on Ohio’s streams and wetlands and violate state and federal laws.”

The Ohio EPA and the state’s coal industry have a history of disputes over permits that
businesses must obtain before they can release pollutants into streams, remove streams and
wetlands, or fill them in. These permits attempt to minimize environmental damage and outline the
work needed to repair or replace waterways.

Since Kasich began his gubernatorial campaign in 2009, Ohio coal interests have poured nearly $1
million into campaign coffers of statewide and legislative candidates, a
Dispatch analysis of data from the secretary of state shows.

“I think that the public has an interest in knowing whether the kind of industry pressure that
Mr. Elmaraghy described in his email was brought to bear in a state agency,” Phillips said in an
interview.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a job creator that she hasn’t opposed, vilified or protested at
some point,” Nichols wrote in an emailed statement. “If she had her way, we’d all be living on a
collective farm cooking organic quinoa over a dung fire. So, I think we’ll take her views in
context.”

Kasich and Nally have refused to answer questions about Elmaraghy.

Elmaraghy has hired an attorney and has launched a bid to keep his job.